Akubra Riverina safari-ized

[Yohanes]

You can pose like them:

<img src="http://www.chindits.info/Photos/400/SE7901.jpg">

 

[Yohanes]

Or him:

<img src="http://www.chindits.info/Photos/400/Houghton.jpg">

 

[Rafferty]

That is a beautiful job, and I want to try it myself. When you say you used steam and water to extend the dents, do you mean that you used 2 steps-- water and then steam?

Also, it might be the angle, but it looks like the sides have a higher rise than originally. Did you deepen the center dent to reshape the sides? I've never reshaped a hat, so I know very little

And I just ordered the same hat. Can't beat that deal!

 

[AlanC]

I didn't mess with the center dent any, just the sides. I sprayed the front area with a little water, massaged it in and then extended the dent shapes forward. Then I hit it with some steam from a kettle in the front while holding the shape in place, followed by air dry and cool down.

My own shaping skills are pretty limited so this was nothing intricate. Trust me when I say you can do it.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Mine arrives Monday.

 

[carter]

Mine should be here either tomorrow or Monday as well!

 

[Mike K.]

What have I started?! lol

 

[Mojave Jack]

What have I started?! lol

After seeing all the research you did into the hats, and then seeing it in person at the QM, I started looking for one the minute I got back! Although I like my Australian bush hats, they don't quite fit into a daily wear routine. A little too, shall we say, Jungle Jim. Just a little...over the top. I wear them in the field, sure, but I'd still like a good hat with a down-turned brim and some classic style for daily wear around work and home. The Riverina seems to be that hat! Even as we dropped you off at the airport, I thought that your hat was not out of place the way a taller, broader brimmed bush hat would be. So that's what you started, my friend!

 

[Mojave Jack]

It's here!

And it's awesome! There's a bit more detail in the Adventurer's Gear Thread, so pardon the cross post.

Alan, I deepened my front dents, too. I tend to take the hat off and put it on by the pinch, and the original bash was a little too wide. It's perfect now. I also spent some time crumpling it up over and over, and it softened up immediately. Today was a windy day, and the brim gave just the perfect amount to absorb the wind without blowing off. My Flinders is still way too stiff for any kind of wind, and shows no signs of softening up.

Mike, you really did your research on the perfect safari hat! I couldn't be happier with this hat! Thanks for doing all the leg work!

 

[Mike K.]

Mike, you really did your research on the perfect safari hat! I couldn't be happier with this hat! Thanks for doing all the leg work!

What are friends for?!
Congratulations on a very fine hat!

 

[AlanC]

:eusa_clap

Looks great!

And a tip of the Riverina to Mike from me as well. He is the man behind it all.

 

[Mojave Jack]

It's going to be quite a club! My buddy at work is planning to swap out the braided hat band, too, but maybe for a plain leather RCMP hat band from Miller Hats. I also passed on the word to another friend, and he is looking at either the Riverina or the Angler.

Judging from the fact that just about everything on Outback Outlet is on sale or clearance, are they going out of business? Or since it is an outlet, is their merchandise basically always on sale until it's gone? They have a couple things on their site that I've been considering. It's a site worth keeping an eye on, anyway. Who knows if they might get some other great Akubras or other stuff might come up?

 

[carter]

Glad I didn't need it before Dec. 25.

... I also passed on the word to another friend, and he is looking at either the Riverina or the Angler.
Judging from the fact that just about everything on Outback Outlet is on sale or clearance, are they going out of business? Or since it is an outlet, is their merchandise basically always on sale until it's gone? They have a couple things on their site that I've been considering. It's a site worth keeping an eye on, anyway. Who knows if they might get some other great Akubras or other stuff might come up?

Outback Outlet may be just recovering from a flood of Riverina orders last week. They posted pre-Christmas delivery for all orders placed by the 21st. I ordered a Riverina on the 20th and still haven't received it. I just called and they said it shipped today. The fellow I spoke with was very pleasant but seemed to be unaware of the delivery guarantee.

If delivery is critical, I'd suggest calling their 800 number.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Got a compliment at the grocery store from a lady yesterday! She said she usually doesn't like men's hats, but she liked my Riverina. I thanked her, and left the store feeling pretty good. It's a sharp hat, and folks notice!

 

[Steve27752]

Inspired by Mike K.'s earlier thread on his Riverina modifications, here is my version. Mine is in fawn and purchased at discount from Outbackoutlet.com back when I also bought the Adventurer.

The Riverina looks like this out of the box:

I've extended the side dents forward with water and steam and, obviously, added the pugaree. It's 1" cotton twill tape in natural, not dyed at all (Mike tea-dyed his).

You have done a great job on your Akubra......................But appart from your link I can`t find a `Riverina` in the Akubra catalogue (I am in the U.K.).
What would the `Riverina` also be known as?
Steve

 

[DominusTecum]

Sometimes Akubra does special hats for retailers, so that you won't find them in the company's official catalogue, only from a certain vendor. I don't know whether this is the case with the Riverina or not, as it's available from the Outback Outlet place, as well as another site, where I think the originator of the "Safari-ized Riverina" got his. Outback Outlet's are "fawn brown," whereas that fellow wanted his in a more khaki color.

Anyway, I'd say some kind of akubra-and-dealer agreement is the ultimate reason why these aren't officially listed by Akubra. The Adventurers that some of us got a few months back were similarly "unofficial," as are the Federations, beloved by so many here on FL.

 

[RBH]

here are a couple sites that list the Riverina...

http://walkabout.com/shop/hat-ak-riverina.asp

http://www.australian-shop.ca/hats_akubra.htm

 

[Steve27752]

Thanks for the links. I am converting my Akubra `drover` to the safari style. I have just bought a hat stretcher so that I can stretch it one size.
Steve

 

[Mike K.]

available from the Outback Outlet place, as well as another site, where I think the originator of the "Safari-ized Riverina" got his. Outback Outlet's are "fawn brown," whereas that fellow wanted his in a more khaki color.

That fellow would be me and I purchased mine from www.walkabout.com in order to get the 'khaki' color, which is actually a light greenish-tan. I'm pretty sure that Akubra used to have the Riverina on their website, but apparently not anymore. Instead of doing a standard Google search for 'Akubra Riverina' do it instead as an image search (you'll get a few more hits).

Also, be sure to check out some of the other Akubra hats. For example, the 'Angler', 'Tablelands', and 'Banjo' are very similar hats with slightly different brim sizes compared to the 'Riverina'. There are lots of options!

 

[RBH]

..Instead of doing a standard Google search for 'Akubra Riverina' do it instead as an image search (you'll get a few more hits).
..

That is how I found the lincks I posted.
You know... great minds!!!!